And so it came down to the last day of the season. The year long party was over. The 1977 White Sox' miracle run was going to end without a berth in the postseason. Meanwhile, George Steinbrenner's millionaire's club the New York Yankees had asserted itself and clinched the AL East, thus restoring the balance that the White Sox had thrown off kilter to the baseball universe.

The Sox continued to tread water following their doubleheader loss to the Angels, going 8-6 in their next 14 games, including the first two of a three game set against the A's. They continued to lose ground to the Royals, who were having the same type of month the Sox had in July. Finally, the day that Sox fans had been dreading since the beginning of September arrived.

The Sox won 3 of 4 after the Sunday loss to Baltimore, but the Royals kept on winning, preventing the Sox from gaining any ground.

One thing that the Sox had going for them even as they were struggling to keep pace with the Royals-they had yet to be shutout through the season. It was a stark contrast to 1976, when they were blanked 21 times, including on the last day of the season. Even in games...

The Sox kicked off September with a three game set vs. the Orioles, who were fighting for their own lives in the AL East. They were falling behind the Yankees, who were blistering hot since August 1. The White Sox needed the series to keep pace with the Royals, who were showing no signs of slowing down.

The teams met for a rubber game on Sunday having split the first two games. 48,952 fans, the...